Physiotherapists Must Promote Health and Well-Being

Health and Well-Being is a high priority in current health and social care provision. Physiotherapists own the responsibility to promote health through physiotherapy practice. The promotion of health to enable individuals who have chronic conditions or are disable to maximise their potential for healthy living. The practice can be reflected on medical, behavioural change and educational approaches.

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." (World Health Organization, 1946) While well-being means a lack of illness and disease, the ability to maintain your mind and soul in a state of balance. There is a vast majority of areas that need to consider in order classifying health and well-being. Several non modifiable factors affecting health can be genetics, gender, race, age. Other factors like personality, attitudes and thoughts that can affect the lifestyle. The relation within a social group, referred to their attitudes, orientations, or behaviours which take the interests, intentions, or needs of other people into account. As general health can have a massive influence on relationship between friends and family. Awareness of emotion changes, the ability to sustain in control of them, resolving problems, and coping with stress. It also depends on the natural environment. Weather, especially extreme heat and cold and icy conditions, inhibits participation in outdoor activities such as walking, cycling and playing at the park.

In many developing countries a main factor affecting health is water quality. In opposition to this, in developed countries, people tend to be overfed which leads to a higher levels of obesity, therefore lower overall well being...

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...and active living is a way to combines physical activity into daily routines. We can do this in a variety of ways, such as walking and cycling over car, taking parts in the social community and exercise for enjoyment. “A United States study found that physically active people have lower annual direct medical costs than inactive people and showed that increasing regular moderate physical activity among inactive adults might reduce the annual national direct medical costs by many billions of dollars” (Pratt M, 2000)

As physiotherapists have to set as the role model in order to promote efficient physical activity. Successful health promotion requires behaviour change. Behaviour is defined as “our actions or reactions, or what you do or don’t do in relation to the environment (external or internal) and/or stimulus” (Barnett, Health behaviour epidemiology 2, 2011).